Birth of Europe Advice

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This is a very interesting course and Prof. Kershaw is a very engaging and interesting lecturer. It studies an often overlooked period of European history from the fall of the Roman empire until the First Crusade. The events studied were way more interesting than anything I expected from a history class. It was a lot of readings and there was a lot of material to study for the exams, but both Prof. Kershaw and the T.A. explained exactly what we would be tested on. I definitely recommend this course, but be prepared to work if you want an A!

Course highlights:

The highlight of this course was learning about Christian holy men and their impact on European society following the fall of the Roman Empire. These men were ascetic monks who were seen as living saints by their followers. As holy men of God, these men intervened on behalf of the common folk to protect them from barbarian invaders. I also enjoyed learning about the Vikings. I had always seen them as these vicious unknowable marauders. Actually, their actions fit right in with the violence committed by every other faction in Europe at that time and we have quite detailed records and accounts of their travels through Europe and its effect on the Europeans.

Hours per week:

3-5 hours

Advice for students:

For the exams, you are given a list of terms that you will be tested on. Create a study guide for yourself that lists each term and then list the who, what, when, where, and significance associated with that term. Before each exam, study those terms! You will also be tested on the primary source passages that you were assigned to read for discussion. Read those passages as they are assigned and take notes about their significance during discussion! If you do both of those things, you will be set to get an A on the exams.